Animal minds: clever crows, ravens, jays and parrots

Tests: 6 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 10 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 233 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«don't be a bird brain, mate» Why might a scientist laugh at that?

1. Birds have the biggest brains on Earth — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Only fish are clever — no support
3. Birds can talk like people — no support
4. Crows and parrots are among the cleverest animals — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

Aesop's fable says a thirsty crow dropped stones into a jug. When scientists tested it with real birds, what happened?

1. The birds dropped stones to raise the water, choosing sinking ones — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. The birds broke the jug — no support
3. The birds dropped only floating corks, because corks are lighter to carry — score 5
4. The birds gave up at once — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 233, line 8: «In experiments, rooks and crows dropped stones into a tube of water to raise a floating treat, like the crow in Aesop's fable, and chose stones that sink.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «stones» (+4); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+4); the same action «drop» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓

«that crow's been screaming at me since I poked its nest last year, can't be the same bird» What is most likely?

1. Crows forget everything overnight — no support
2. It is the same crow; crows remember faces for years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 14
3. It is a different crow that just happens to be there by chance — score 7
4. All crows hate everyone — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 14, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 35, line 11: «Crows in Japan drop walnuts at traffic lights for cars to crack, and crows can remember a human face for years.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «remember» (+5); the same doer «crows» (+4); the same property (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓

What would happen if a jay forgot where it hid its nuts?

1. Some forgotten nuts would grow into trees — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
2. The other jays would bring the nuts back to it — score 5
3. The jay would never need food again that winter — score 5
4. The nuts would roll back to the jay by themselves — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 233, line 10: «Jays and nutcrackers hide thousands of nuts in autumn and remember most of the places months later, though the nuts they forget can grow into new trees, and ja…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow» (+4); the same doer «nuts» (+3); the same place «new trees» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓

In a cartoon a parrot repeats every rude thing anyone says. What is true?

1. Real parrots only say rude things — score 5
2. Parrots do copy sounds of their flock, and to a pet its people are the flock — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Parrots understand every word they say and choose the rude ones on purpose to annoy — score 5
4. Parrots never copy any sound — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 206, line 6: «Whether parrots understand what they say is still argued; Alex seemed to use some words with meaning, but most pet parrots copy sounds they hear often.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «most pet parrots» (+3); the same action «copy» (+2); the same thing acted on «sounds» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓

«got a parrot for my birthday, he'll be gone in a few years» What could be wrong with that?

1. Some parrots live over 60 years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Parrots never grow old or get ill at all — no support
3. Parrots live only as long as goldfish — score 5
4. Right, parrots live about a year — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 233, line 13: «Some parrots live for over 60 years, so a pet parrot may outlive its owner.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «parrots» (+3); the same property (+3); the same action «live» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A kea pulls the rubber strip off a parked car in the mountains. Why do keas test everything?

1. They are scared of cars — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They are trying to fix the car — no support
3. They eat rubber as their main food, because there is nothing else up there — no support
4. In the high mountains food is scarce, so exploring pays off — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A magpie with a sticker on its neck looks in a mirror and pecks at its own neck. What might this show?

1. It is cleaning the glass with its beak — no support
2. It wants to eat the shiny mirror glass — no support
3. It may know the reflection is itself — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It thinks another magpie stole its sticker — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 146, line 15: «No animal collects gold; bowerbirds decorate their display areas with blue or shiny objects, and the idea that magpies steal shiny things is mostly a myth, as…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «magpies» (+3); the same action «steal» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«a raven slid down the roof like 6 times, is it broke or what» What is the best answer?

1. It is ill and cannot fly, so it slides — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is falling asleep — no support
3. It is trying to melt the snow with its warm feathers — no support
4. It is probably playing, as ravens are known to — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Count them: 4 crows and 2 parrots sit on a fence. How many wings and how many feet?

1. 8 wings and 12 feet — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 12 wings and 24 feet — no support
3. 6 wings and 6 feet — no support
4. 12 wings and 12 feet — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

A crow and a man see the same cracked nut on a crossing. The light turns red for cars. What will a clever crow do?

1. Leave the nut for the man — score 4
2. Fly at the cars — score 3
3. Hop down and take the nut while the cars are stopped — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
4. Wait until the cars start moving again and then fly in — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 206, line 7: «A parrot's hooked beak and strong jaw crack hard nuts and seeds, and big macaws open nuts that people need a hammer for.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «nuts» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «need» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the behaviour exhibited by the New Caledonian crow designated Betty in the course of experimental observation.

1. The counting of objects up to six — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The recitation of words of human speech — no support
3. The bending of a straight wire into a hook for the retrieval of food — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The construction of a nest from wire supplied by the experimenters — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the recognition of human faces by crows.

1. Crows recognise only the faces of children — score 6
2. Crows recall faces for no longer than a single day — score 6
3. Crows recall dangerous faces for years and communicate this to other crows — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
4. Crows are incapable of distinguishing one human face from another — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 9, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 35, line 11: «Crows in Japan drop walnuts at traffic lights for cars to crack, and crows can remember a human face for years.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «crows» (+3); the same property (+3); the same action «remember» (+2); the same thing acted on «human face» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the behaviour of jays in respect of stored food?

1. They recover most of their caches months later and re-hide food when observed — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. They consume all food immediately upon finding it, storing none whatsoever for the winter — score 4
3. They store food only in their own nests — score 2
4. They are incapable of recalling any cache — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 233, line 10: «Jays and nutcrackers hide thousands of nuts in autumn and remember most of the places months later, though the nuts they forget can grow into new trees, and ja…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «most» (+2); the same property (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the reason for which a domesticated parrot imitates human speech.

1. It is incapable of producing natural calls — score 5
2. It comprehends the full meaning of every utterance — no support
3. It imitates only words of a discourteous character — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. It treats the members of the household as its flock — ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 233, line 12: «Wild parrots copy the calls of their flock; a pet parrot treats its people as its flock, so it copies their words, polite or rude.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «copy» (+4); the same thing acted on «words» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/233-animal-minds-clever-crows-ravens-jays-and-parrots/